Cygnus Docks at Station for Christmas Delivery to Successfully Resume American Resupply Chain

@OrbitalATK’s #Cygnus spacecraft is moving toward its capture point at the International Space Station as astronauts maneuver the Canadian-built robotic arm to reach out for dramatic vehicle grappling on Dec. 9, 2015. Credit: NASA TV
Story/photos updated

The commercial Cygnus cargo spaceship, loaded with over three tons of critically needed supplies and research experiments, successfully rendezvoused and docked with the International Space Station (ISS) this morning (Dec. 9) after blazing to orbit on Sunday, Dec. 6, and thereby successfully resumed the American resupply chain to orbit – just in time for Christmas in Space!

The Orbital ATK Cygnus CRS-4 resupply vessel arrived in the vicinity of the massive orbiting outpost around 530 a.m. EST today with pinpoint accuracy after precisely firing its maneuvering thrusters to home in on the complex during a two day orbital chase.

After moving close in to the station, NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren deftly grappled the Cygnus – named the “S.S. Deke Slayton II” – with the space stations 57.7-foot-long (17.6- meter-long) robotic arm, Canadarm2, at 6:19 a.m. EST, while operating the arm from a robotics work station inside the seven windowed domed cupola.

The entire sequence was broadcast live on NASA TV.

Lindgren was assisted by NASA astronaut and current ISS Commander Scott Kelly, who is spending a year in space as part of the first ‘1 Year ISS Crew’ with Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko.

The arm was then used to install the “S.S. Deke Slayton II” into place on the stations Earth-facing port of the Unity module at 9:26 a.m. EST.

Cygnus thus became the first cargo ship to be berthed at that Earth-facing port on Unity.

“#Cygnus, AKA #SSDekeSlayton has arrived just in time for #Christmas! #YearInSpace,” tweeted Scott Kelly.

#Cygnus, AKA #SSDekeSlayton has arrived just in time for #Christmas! #YearInSpace. Credit: @StationCDRKelly

The Orbital ATK Cygnus CRS-4 cargo freighter was carried to space on a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket and which successfully restarted American’s critically needed cargo missions to the ISS following a pair of launch failures by Orbital ATK and SpaceX over the past year. It marked the first successful US cargo delivery mission in some 8 months and is packed with Christmas presents for the crew.

The ULA Atlas V rocket roared off the launch pad at 4:44 p.m. EST at the opening of a 30 minute launch window from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

“It’s great to be back in space and have Cygnus up there,” Frank Culbertson, President of Orbital ATK’s Space System Group, told Universe Today.

“Every launch is exciting and we have the team working on what we are committed to doing.”

The launch took place under gloomy Florida skies on the fourth try following of trio of scrubs forced by heavy downpours and blustery winds sweeping through the ‘sunshine’ state as I watched from the roof of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC.

The launch failures of the Orbital ATK Antares Orb-3 on Oct 28, 2014 and SpaceX Falcon 9 Dragon on June 28, 2015 forced a cargo resupply launch hiatus until the root causes of the mishaps are fully resolved.

It’s critical that the resupply flights from Orbital ATK and rival SpaceX resume because they are the essential lifeline to the station, without which it cannot exist. The cargo missions stock the station with all manner of equipment, science experiments, food, clothing spare parts and gear for the international crews of six astronauts and cosmonauts.

“So we are trying to get some US specific items, that were critically lost on both flights, back up to the station with this flight now,” Dan Tani, a former astronaut who is now Orbital ATK’s vice president for Mission and Cargo Operations, told Universe Today.

The Cygnus CRS-4 supply ship is carrying over 7000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and vehicle hardware to the orbital laboratory. This will support dozens of the approximately 250 science and research investigations that will occur during Expeditions 45 and 46, says NASA.

“Science payloads aboard Cygnus will offer a new life science facility that will support studies on cell cultures, bacteria and other microorganisms; a microsatellite deployer and the first microsatellite that will be deployed from the space station; and experiments that will study the behavior of gases and liquids, clarify the thermo-physical properties of molten steel, and evaluate flame-resistant textiles.”

“Cygnus also will deliver replacement cargo items including a set of Microsoft HoloLens devices for use in NASA’s Sidekick project, a safety jet pack astronauts wear during spacewalks known as SAFER, and high pressure nitrogen and oxygen tanks to plug into the station’s air supply network.”

Dec. 9, 2015: International Space Station Configuration. (Clockwise from top) The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft is docked to the Poisk mini-research module. The ISS Progress 61 spacecraft is docked to the Zvezda service module. The ISS Progress 60 spacecraft is docked to the Pirs docking compartment. The Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft is docked to the Rassvet mini-research module. The Cygnus-4 cargo craft is berthed to the Unity module.

The current six person station crew is expected to open the hatch to Cygnus tomorrow, Thursday, Dec. 10, and start unpacking all the goodies including Christmas presents from Earth after making leak checks and confirm safe operations.

The spacecraft will remain joined to berthed at the station for at least a month before detaching and conducting a destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere sometime in January 2016. It will be loaded with some 3,000 pounds of trash for disposal on return to free up storage space for the crew.

Commander Scott Kelly saw the Cygnus spacecraft heading to space Sunday after its launch from Florida at 4:44 p.m. EST/9:44 p.m. UTC. He photographed the spacecraft rising above the Earth’s horizon from the International Space Station and posted it to Twitter. Credit: @StationCDRKelly

The launch of the privately developed Orbital ATK Cygnus spacecraft began the company’s fourth operational cargo resupply mission, named CRS-4, under a commercial resupply services (CRS) contract to NASA.

Cygnus is named the ‘SS Deke Slayton II’ in memory of Deke Slayton, one of the America’s original seven Mercury astronauts. He was a member of the Apollo Soyuz Test Flight. Slayton was also a champion of America’s commercial space program.

Orbital ATK has contracted a second Cygnus to fly on an Atlas in March 2016 on the OA-6 mission.

Orbital ATK’s Cygnus Spacecraft carrying vital cargo to resupply the International Space Station lifts-off aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket as seen from atop the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at KSC with new commercial crew tower left of rocket. Credit: Ken Kremer/kenkremer.com

NASA has also contracted with Orbital ATK to fly three additional missions through 2018.

On Friday, Lindgren will be departing the station and returning to Earth along with two crewmates in a Soyuz capsule to complete his 141 mission.

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